NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Iron Sky" data-source="post: 5104612" data-attributes="member: 60965">Session 29, Part 6 “So... what is that place out there?  You know, the ruined one outside?” Kormak said. Bail winced, expecting the beholder to attack at any moment.  He'd heard of these things from his mother when he was very young.  'Powerful, treacherous, cunning,' she had said.  And this one has a True Stone.  We have to be careful here...  “Out there?  It was some empire that existed here before they opened up the portal.” “Portal?” The room shook, stone ground on stone, and one small section of the room slid aside, revealing a shimmering gray-green portal.  Just looking at it made Bail feel sick, like the room was spinning and stretching, like gravity was constantly shifting.“Through the portal is where we came to your plane.  There is an amazing realm on the other side that you might enjoy visiting.  Might want to leave your-” “Wait, hold on toothy.  What about this place outside, this empire.  What happened to it?” Kormak said. “Well, it seems awfully destroyed lately.  How was it when you came through?” “Uh... destroyed?” “It hasn't changed since last time I was there then.”  The thing grinned and Bail wondered what it was up to.  He exchanged worried glances with Velea, then Harold.  From the archer's expression, for once they agreed about something.  Bail stared at two eye-stalks that were watching him and walked slowly towards the archer. “So, did you destroy it?” Kormak said. Bail leaned close to Harold and whispered.  “With that thing floating there in the center of the room, you're the only one who can reach it.” “Well, I can't claim sole responsibility for the destruction of an empire,” Abrogosian said.  “Though the thought is sure flattering to the ego.” “What about the True Stone?” Harold whispered back.  “Its magics...?” “What's an ego?  No, wait, I don't care.  So, you're saying that the ruins out there were somehow caused by you?” Bail shrugged.  “I'm assuming you know about or noticed the effects it has one whatever it looks at?  I don't know if the True Stone will work.” “Yes, well, no, not directly.  It's a long story.  I am responsible for the pyramid though, you like it?” “So you take our True Stone then?” Harold whispered back. “Like the pyramid?  No, I don't like it much honestly. It smushed me one too many times. No offense.” “Yeah, we'll distract it, you kill it,” Bail whispered back. Abrogosian turned his main eye towards them.  “It's good form to talk about your plans to kill something somewhere where it can't see and hear you, just so you know.” Bail froze, ready for combat.  There was a long, tense pause.  Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.  “So, why don't you just kill us?” It blinked its massive center eye at him a few times, then smiled.  “Guess.” Bail stared at it for a minute, then whispered to Harold.  “See if you can get Velea to distract it somehow, I might have an idea.”  He turned to the beholder.  “Um... can I get a hint?” “Of course,” Abrogosian said, a set of eyestalks following Harold as he walked over to Velea.  Bail happened to glance at the portal again as Harold walked near it.  Even looking at it gave Bail a headache.  “Ok, my first hint is... artifacts!” “Artifacts.” “Yes, artifacts.  Go ahead and guess.” Bail saw Harold whispering to Velea.  “So... you aren't attacking us because of artifacts.” “That's a just a hint, no need to parrot it back to me as if it were the answer.  Use that draconic brain of yours, see what you can come up with.” “Uh... I think I need another hint.” “Numerology,” it said, without a second's hesitation. “Numerology?” “See, there's that parroting thing again.  I must say, gold dragons aren't doing nearly as good a job raising their offspring as they used to.” “I was raised by kobolds.” “Ah, well that explains a lot then.” Suddenly Velea burst out into song, her voice ringing even in the strange acoustics of the spherical stone chamber.  Bail's eyes widened and he was caught up in the song along with the beholder for a second before he noticed Harold waving at him and nodding his head towards the exit. He walked over to Kormak and motioned for the dwarf to head towards the exit and was nearly there with Harold when Velea's song ended.  Abrogosian turned towards them immediately and they stopped in their tracks, again ready to fight. “I say, if you are going out, could you take this litter with you?” They stared at the beholder uncomprehendingly.“Litter?” Kormak finally said. One eyestalk motioned towards the heap of gold on the far side of the chamber.  “Yes, this stuff has slowly accumulated over the years and it's honestly a bit of an eye-sore.  Could you dispose of it for me?” The three of them exchanged a confused glance, then quickly complied.  “Would you like another song?” Harold said, as they started to bag up coins and stack chests. “Yes please, it is most delightful.” Bail had been in many surreal situations in his life, but nothing up to that point compared to hauling sacks of beholder-given gold away from said beholder through a hole in the floor that sent them falling upwards onto the stairs of a self-building pyramid while a shadow-walking woman with a regenerating silver golem stood next to a portal to a different dimension and sang the most beautiful music he'd ever heard as the beholder hummed along. Kormak summed it up for him as they hoofed it quickly up the stairs.  “That was different.”</blockquote>

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